Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account

Press Releases

29 Feb 2016

Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (Monday) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$3,527.4 billion as at 31 January 2016, HK$98.5 billion higher than that at the end of December 2015.  Foreign currency assets increased by HK$74.6 billion and Hong Kong dollar assets increased by HK$23.9 billion.

The rise in foreign currency assets was mainly due to an increase in unsettled purchases of securities and the issuance of Certificates of Indebtedness.  The rise in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to additional placements by Fiscal Reserves, which was partly offset by the fall in market value of Hong Kong equities.

The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of January 2016 was HK$1,612.9 billion, increased by HK$21.2 billion, or 1.3%, from the end of December 2015.  The rise was mainly due to an increase in the outstanding amount of Certificates of Indebtedness, which reflected the seasonal demand for banknotes around Lunar New Year.

The amount of Backing Assets increased by HK$32.7 billion, or 1.9%, to HK$1,725.2 billion.  The increase was mainly attributable to the issuance of Certificates of Indebtedness and valuation gains.  The backing ratio increased from 106.33% at the end of December 2015 to 106.96% at the end of January 2016.


Attachment
Annex 1: Abridged Balance Sheet of the Exchange Fund
Annex 2: Currency Board Account

 

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
29 February 2016


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At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund’s data are issued by the HKMA each month.  Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with the International Monetary Fund’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS).  The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund’s Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA’s policy of maintaining a high level of transparency.  For the month of February 2016, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:

5 February
(Issued)

SDDS International Reserves
(Hong Kong’s Latest Foreign Currency Reserve Assets Figures)

15 February
(Issued)

SDDS Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank
(Analytical Accounts of the Exchange Fund)

29 February

SDDS Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity

29 February

Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account 

 

 

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Last revision date : 29 February 2016